Geheim [12 Genre Months]

‘I didn’t know what I was getting into until now—the moment I chose you. But as romantic as this sounds, we have always known that our lives would be different. From the day we chose this path, we are living out our vow to leave all normality behind—accepting that one day, we will be given a responsibility beyond our capabilities. Still, the choice is ours. It has always been and it will always be. Thus, you have a decision to make.

‘But… before you do, know this—it wasn’t an easy decision. Choosing you wasn’t easy. Our company has struggled to bring this case to a close, and only the most capable is trusted with the job. Alas, you are the most capable amongst our colleagues—both a compliment and a curse, I’m afraid. So even if you think you are not ready, trust me when I say, you are the most ready. Still, this will not be forced upon you.

‘You do not, in any way, have to feel obligated. I, myself, accepted this task out of choice. Thus you are free to decline. No one—neither those before nor those after you—will pass any judgement. After all, none of us wished to be called upon for this—the daunting quest we all secretly feared. The perilous journey where no man before has ever returned from—that even I can only pray to succeed as to not have the baton passed on to you. But forgive me, should you be reading this. I did try my very best.

‘Now, decide. At eighteen past noon, you are to drop this letter in the blue mailbox at the junction between Geheim Street and Upper Agentin Lane should you wish to accept. However, if you have chosen to decline, do nothing except erase these last words from memory. Once you have made your decision, you will receive your next course of action—either way, what we signed up for has no end.

‘I wish you good luck, my dear friend. I hope that you treasure every moment of peace in this turbulent world. It has been an honour to serve with you, and may you continue to make me and our company proud.’

“Sign,” she ended.

I scribbled my name at the bottom of the handwritten letter—crafted under her dictation—before handing it over.

“If you fail,” she added. “We will have to send this.”

I nodded. I knew the procedure. I had only one reservation—one that reflected on my countenance.

“What, Agent Lee?” she prompted.

“Well, I’m not too sure if the letter is convincing,” I said.

“You shouldn’t be worried about convincing your colleague,” she replied. “You should be worried about the mission, and accomplishing it.”

“Ah, yes.” Of course, succeeding at the mission was my top priority. The day I received my summon in the mail—the handwritten note that was supposedly sent by my mentor—I knew I would be the one that finally infiltrated the nuclear base. Still, a bizarre discomfort had settled in my chest—one that I couldn’t shake. “I’m sorry, you can count on me. It’s just…”

“Just what, Agent Lee?”

“The letter… and the words…” I hesitated. Was it even worth mentioning? It seemed, almost, trivial.

“What about them?” she asked.

“I… wouldn’t call this mission romantic. And I don’t use the words perilous or, say, turbulent.”

“Agent Lee,” she replied.

“Yes ma’am.”

“It doesn’t matter what you would call this mission or what words you say. The decision will be hers either way,” she stated.

“Yes ma’am.” She was right—the content of my letter didn’t matter. It was, indeed, trivial. It must have been the nerves. After all, I had a mission to accomplish—to do what those before me had failed to do. And should I succeed, the letter itself wouldn’t even leave the room.

“Now, report to weapons. We have a few upgrades,” she ordered. “And agent…”

“Yes ma’am.”

“Keep your head in the game.”

“Don’t worry, I’ll return with glory,” I said with a firm nod.

Glory—what a strange word. Was that a word Jonathan had used? Jonathan was a man of little words. He barely spoke, let alone write. Clearly he didn’t pen his letter, too. Still… glory—the only word I could recall from his letter. Oddly enough, everything else was a blur. But… it didn’t matter what he wrote—I was on a mission.

A mission so romantically perilous… that I chose to enlist in the fullness of my sanity.

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12 Genre Months © 2020 by Jeyna Grace. All rights reserved.

(Click HERE for the list of stories in this writing challenge.)

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Espionage

There I was, arm stretched out with a loaded pistol in my hand. My eyes were on target and I simply had to pull the trigger to end it all. But at that very moment, I waited.

“Why are you doing this?” he asked. No, he demanded.

I remained silent to his angry question, not because I did not know what to say but because I was not sure if my answer was acceptable.

“Are you going to shoot me now? Your childhood friend?!” he demanded. His words were fuelled with a concoction of pain and hatred put together by my betrayal.

“Answer me dammit! Have you grown mute?”

As I stared him straight in the eye, with the coldest expression on my face, I saw him break. His eyes were watering and the hand he held his pistol with began to shake. He was not doing this to himself, I was.

Since the day I said ‘yes’ to the other side, I cut off all ties to the life I had. My friends were no longer my friends, my family was no longer my family, and the organization I worked for was now the one I betrayed. No, I was not forced. It might seem so but there was no gun pointing at my head when I joined the other side. I made the decision and I’ve stuck with it for years.

When he asked me why I decided to switch sides and turn on everyone I once loved, I wanted to tell him it was because it felt right. There was money, protection, and a whole lot of other promises, but the only reason why I flipped was because it felt right. I felt as though it was the normal choice to make, and somehow they managed to convince me that I was fighting for the wrong cause all along.

“Was it worth it?” he asked, this time in exasperation. He seemed tired and he dropped his hand to his side.

I don’t know, I silently said.

“Seeing you right now, it’s like you have been brainwashed. Are you just going to do what they tell you to do? You have a choice, man. You can stop it all and come back with me. Please just come back with me,” he pleaded, as his body language indicated he was letting his guard down.

He was easing up, but I was far from it. Even though my arm was growing tired, I still held it straight. One shot was all I needed to end the night. I had a disc in my other hand full of information I needed to take down my former employer, and I just wanted to get it over with.

“I have a choice,” I said.

“Yes, you do!” he quickly replied, thinking he had successfully convinced me.

 “I choose this,” I said.

“What?” he asked, unable to believe his ears.

“You heard me,” I simply replied.

He laughed. It was a laugh of disbelief; short, strained and false. The kind of laugh that marked the end of a long and faithful friendship. As though the world could sense it too, the night sky acknowledged our broken ties and grumbled softly.

When his laugh faded, there was a brief moment of silence between us, but I waited. I gave him time to come to terms with my betrayal. That was the least I could do for him, in fact the last thing I could ever do for him. When he finally accepted that I was a lost cause, he shook his head, wiped his eyes and then lifted his pistol again. His arm was firm and his eyes locked on mine. At that very moment, we were a mirror image of each another.

“This is it then. You’re going to kill me,” he said. Anger, pain, and disbelief had left his voice.

“I don’t have to if you get out of my way,” I replied. I didn’t want to kill him, but if he insisted on making things hard I would not hesitate to shoot.

“I’m not moving. You have to shoot me,” he boldly stated.

Fine, I said to myself. A millisecond after that, a bullet shot out of my pistol and whizzed through the cold night air. He did not see it coming and his reflexes could not dodge the bullet that went straight for his head. Before the clock could tick another second, the bullet hit its target and sent it shattering into pieces.

It was a loud shatter as the mirror crashed to the ground. The tiny motel floor was now scattered with glass shards. As I remained seated, I stared at where the standing mirror once stood. I silently told myself he was gone, and that side of me was never going to stand in my way again.

Knowing that the gunshot would send people to my room, I pushed him out of my head and quickly got to my feet, tucking my pistol into its holster as I did. Without wasting anymore time, I grabbed my belongings and the disc before climbing out the back window.

Now all I needed to do was make a call and drop the coveted information off. I made my decision that night, I was not forced into it… it was my choice.

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There will be a time in our lives where we choose a side; the side that seems right and the side that reflects our hearts. And when that time comes, will we go for the side that tells us what to do and what we should believe in, or will we stay true to the person we grew up with?

Often times, we find it hard to go against the grain and be ourselves, so we choose to act and behave a certain way just to fit in with the majority. But every time we do that, we betray ourselves. We are taking what we know about ourselves and handing it over to the world, where the world can use it to judge and conform us. Yes, it might seem right and the most common choice, but is loosing yourself in the process really worth it? No one is forcing you in this decision, so choose wisely.

Anyway, I hope you guys liked this story 🙂 Do let me know what you think of it in the comments below!

© 2014 Jeyna Grace

(For more short stories, click HERE)

2,900 & The Worst Ever Written

As the number increases, my ideas for banners decreases. I just can’t seem to make pretty ones all the time! Gah! Anyways, I just wanna thank all 2,900 subscribers for your readership. It is exciting to see how my blog is growing and how people find it interesting. I’m really glad I get the chance to share my stories with you and hear your thoughts on them. Thank you so, so much!

Well since I’ve hit 2,900 subs, I’ve decided to do something rather embarrassing. Below you will find a story written by me. I was once a 13 year old who disliked reading and wanted to be a spy, so please don’t take the story seriously. I don’t write like this anymore… thankfully!

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HELP!

“Jamie, Chris, we need your help! Hipmo, his henchmen and ninjas are here. Quick he’s gonna get all of us.” The emergency XSA connecting-system went off on their watches.

Both of them quickly jumped into the emergency secret passage that led straight into the XSA (Xstream Special Agents) secret lab. When they got there the agency was empty. No one was there except the projector, screening Hipmo conveying a message saying, “You teens wont stand a chance to defeat me now. My new invention the ‘Mind Controller’ will allow me to control every single person’s mind in the entire world. And my first target is here – The XSA agency! So, if you want your fellow agents back or maybe thinking of saving the world from me, come fight me!” The message ended with an evil laughter.

Chris and Jamie went to the resource room to get some equipment. Meanwhile, Hipmo in his lab, ‘The Herrerasaurus’ was planning a trap to catch Chris and Jamie. “This is gonna be easy, they are just teenagers. One is 14 and the other is 16. What harm can they do?” Hipmo said to his second in command, Syniz. “Make sure the perimeters of Herrerasaurus is guarded by my henchmen!” Hipmo roared. “Yes boss,” Syniz cringed.

Back at XSA, Chris said to Jamie, “Why don’t we take all the stuff here?”

“Good idea,” Jamie replied.

Both of them took everything and headed towards the ‘Jet Booster’. They got into the ‘Jet Booster’ and said the password, Phoenix.

“Destination?” asked the computer.

“Herrerasaurus,” said Chris.

“It will take 5 hours from here, get ready for take of,” said the computer. Both of the agents did some preparation while the jet headed towards Herrerasaurus.

HERRERASAURUS

“We have reached your destination,” announced the computer.

“What?” said Chris rubbing his sleepy eyes.

“We are here,” replied Jamie.

The jet had landed on the ocean, but there was no sign of Herrerasaurus anywhere. Chris checked the computer and found out they were right on top of it!

Both of them slipped on the special water outfit which was taken from the resource room and checked if they have left anything behind in the jet. Then they dived into the water and there it is – Hipmo’s secret lab Herrerasaurus.

“It’s humongous!” exclaimed Jamie.

As they swam closer and closer towards Herrerasaurus they spotted a few of Hipmo’s henchmen.

“Do you think we can take them out?” asked Chris.

“I’m not sure, maybe it’s a trap, maybe there are more of hem hiding waiting for us to appear,” cautioned Jamie.

Chris replied, “Don’t be a pessimist.”

Without hesitation, he headed towards them before Jamie could utter another word.  Immediately the henchmen spotted Chris and shot him with ‘under water laser guns’. They tranquilized him and took him into the Herrerasaurus.

Jamie quickly followed the henchmen that had captured Chris through a hatch leading into Herrerasaurus. There were other henchmen on patrol keeping guard of the place. Jamie quickly removed the special water outfit and pressed the invisibility button on her inner suit. Having lost contact on Chris whereabouts, she quickly activated a button on her watch which immediately displayed a computerized map of Herrerasaurus. A fox icon appeared indicating Chris’ location, and the pursuit continued.

Jamie was following the icon on the map till it disappeared. Then she saw 5 ninjas guarding a metal steel electric door.

“According to the map there is no door here, maybe Chris is inside!” thinking aloud.

Then she carefully headed towards the door when her invisibility booster gone bust and she became visible again.

“Oh no! The energy for the invisibility booster must had short-circuited and burnt out. I should not have used it straight away after being in the water!” Jamie whined.

THE DOOR

Meanwhile behind the metal steel electric door, 2 henchmen grabbed Chris and shoved him on his knees before Hipmo.

“Where’s your partner?” demanded Hipmo.

“I don’t know,” Chris replied firmly.

“Where’s the girl,” Hipmo demanded again.

“If I knew I wouldn’t tell you either!” Chris bravely shouted back.

“Fine,” Hipmo said and snapped his fingers.

The 2 henchmen started punching Chris in the stomach. Hipmo snapped his fingers again and the henchmen stopped. Hipmo asked again, “I’m asking you for the last time, where is the girl!”

“I don’t know,” Chris cried out in pain. Hipmo gave a sign to his other henchmen and they went into the room and brought out a chip. Then Chris was strike on the head that left him unconscious.

Outside the door the ninjas charged towards Jamie. She started to shoot with her ‘Net Gun’. The ninjas were caught under the net and were helpless. Then she activated the flying mode on her watch and she levitated enabling her to give a swift flying kick on the other ninjas. Just as the ninjas were trying to gain footing, she threw ‘sleeping darts’ at them causing them to fall into deep sleep.

Taking a second look at the map, the fox icon is moving. “Maybe its Chris, or maybe it’s a trap,” Jamie thought. Then she started following it that ultimately led to the dungeon. She went in and to her surprise there wasn’t anybody there, not a single agent. Suddenly all the agents and Chris appeared behind the trap wall. But they looked lifeless. They were hypnotized. Then appeared Hipmo tailed by his ninjas and henchmen. “Give up, you can never defeat me now!”

“Dream on, I will never give up,” called out Jamie boldly.

“Get herrrr!!!” commanded Hipmo.

Jamie dashed towards the exit, opened the hatch, took a deep breath and dived in. She swam up to the surface and aimed for the jet. Failing to get the engine running, she gingerly fastened her boots on to a flying skateboard and took off into the air. But the enemies were not far from sight.

“I need a plan, a plan, quick!” instructing herself.

CONTROL STATION

Still under hot pursuit, a quick search of the Herrerasaurus map for the control station should be the next move. However, the search was futile.

“Maybe the control station is in the metal steel electric door, the door is not in the map and so is the control station, that’s it! The control station is behind that door!” Jamie said coolly, “Now the only thing I need now is…a…decoy! Yes a decoy.”

Jamie managed to glide towards a big rock to hide, unnoticed, the enemies lost her trail. To divert the enemies, she created a hologram of herself. She succeeded and gave her a chance to sneak back to Herrerasaurus.

Back into the water, she noticed there were still a few ninjas and henchmen guarding the entrance. She took out the under water torch and shone it with maximum power, causing a blinding effect to the henchmen and ninjas. Jamie hurriedly made her way to the entrance.

When she got in she ran towards the door and with her ‘laser pen’ she look for the connection that allows the door to have electric current in it. It was at the top of the door and Jamie used the laser pen and cut the wire. In order to get in, she cut the door with the ‘acid highlighter’ in a circular motion.

Once in, with no one in sight, she made her way to the control panel and tried to figure out a way to stop Hipmo’s mind controller from controlling all the agents till she heard a familiar voice.

“Surrender now”

“Chris?” Jamie asked.

Chris was standing there like a zombie gazing at Jamie.

“What’s got into you! Snap out of it, don’t you see? Hipmo’s controlling you! Oh yeah, I don’t think you get it, cause you are in his control,” sighed Jamie.

Chris remained motionless. Then Jamie spotted a chip implanted on his left temple and she reached out to it but Chris grabbed her hand and pushed her away. Jamie thought for a moment, “That’s it! That’s the mind controller, if I can just take that thing off them they can’t be controlled anymore! Or maybe if I press STOP MIND CONTROLLING button, then maybe this problem will be solved a little easier”

MISSION ACCOMPLISHED

Just as Jamie was about to reach out to press the STOP MIND CONTROLLING button, Chris pulled her from the back and slammed her against the wall. Hipmo followed by Syniz dashed in.

“Not bad for a teenage girl but not smart enough,” remarked Hipmo cynically. “Syniz call for back-ups!”

Jamie reached for the ‘dizzy pins’ at the back of her pocket and aimed at Hipmo and Syniz on the head. Bulls eye – both fell to the ground wiggling in pain. Meantime, Chris is still standing there motionless waiting for his next command. Jamie ran across to the control panel and said the password, when she heard heavy stomping of feet behind her, without wasting time she pressed the STOP MIND CONTROLLING button.

Immediately the stomping came to a halt. As though getting up from a deep sleep, Chris murmured, “What happened?”

“Long story” Jamie replied.

Agent Osprey, Head of XSA, and the other agents begin to regain consciousness and managed to overpower the ninjas and henchmen before they can escape.

“All thanks to Agent Jamie and Agent Chris who saved not only the agency but the world, Good job! It is an honor to have agents who are brave, trustworthy, reliable and diligent. I, Head of the XSA hereby promote them to Level 5!” Agent Osprey ended his speech with resounding applause from the floor.

What’s our next assignment, boss?” Jamie and Chris asked with eagerness.

 THE END

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I apologize… for the agony you’ve been through.

This is actually my very first short story. Back then, it felt like I was writing a novel! But when I dug it up, I realized how short it was and laughed. Well being 13, 1,600 words was actually a lot; at that age in high school, we only wrote 150 words for essays.

Typically doing a re-read, I couldn’t help but laugh as I went along. Not only do I name everything with cheesiness, my characters are also so fond of talking about their situation! At least I don’t do that now.

Anyways, if you’re wondering why I shared this horrible story with you, there is a reason. This is clearly the worst thing I’ve written but it proves that one can improve over time. You may not be the best storyteller now, but with passion, perseverance and time, you can be one. Don’t give up so quickly, and give yourself a few chances to polish up and shine.

I hope you guys had a good laugh reading this and as always, let me know what you think in the comments below!

© 2003-2013 Jeyna Grace

(To read much better stories, visit here.)